After Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, yet another Congress government has fallen. This time it is the Union Territory of Puducherry, and that too at a time when elections are expected soon. Now there is chatter that President’s Rule will be used to delay elections, to help BJP build a base. After all, it does not have a single elected MLA here. It was the vote of the nominated MLAs that was critical to V Naryanasamy’s government losing the trust vote on Monday, alongside the resignation of one DMK and five Congress MLAs in the runup to it.
Congress is now left with governments only in Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan besides coalition presence in Maharashtra and Jharkhand. The way in which BJP is going to town with jibes about Rahul Gandhi’s “Midas touch” as the latter had visited Puducherry recently, underlines that the developments in Puducherry have been ‘engineered’ with an eye much beyond the small Union Territory. A demoralised Congress apart, even its allies would be impacted, such as DMK which is looking to go up against a seated AIADMK in the coming elections.
BJP’s unbridled appetite does stand in stark contrast to listless Congress leadership, even as its governments get toppled one pin after another. As the pygmification of India’s biggest opposition party continues apace, it is non-party actors, such as Punjab farmers today, who will step into the vacuum to voice social and political grievances.
Read also: With Puducherry setback, Congress political footprint diminishes further
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